Diffractive Optics for Generation and Transformation of Structured Light

Dear Colleagues,

Structured light is a term often used to describe light fields with a certain configuration of amplitude, phase, and/or polarization distribution. Today, structured laser beams are widely used in optical and quantum communications, the laser processing of materials, optical microscopy, and biophotonics. The possibility of controlling not only the distribution of the generated laser beam intensity but also its phase distribution and polarization state is critically important and can be effectively performed using diffractive optical elements (DOEs). In recent years, DOEs have been widely used for the shaping of specified complex field distributions, including so-called vortex laser beams carrying an orbital angular momentum, for the realization of polarization transformations, and also for forming fields with a longitudinal field component. Their high damage threshold and efficiency and the possibility for their miniaturization have made DOEs a practical tool for the realization of centimeter-, millimeter-, and micrometer-scale optical devices.

This Special Issue introduces new theoretical aspects of diffractive optics and practical applications of DOEs in the generation, transformation, and control of structured beams.

This Special Issue will focus on state-of-the-art research on diffractive optics and diffractive optics-based devices. In this Special Issue, original research articles, letters, and reviews are welcome.

Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following：

• General aspects of diffractive optics;
• Optical elements;
• Diffractive optics-based devices;
• Design algorithms;
• Phase and amplitude encoding;
• Structured light beams;
• Polarization transformation;
• Superresolution;
• Optical processing.

Prof. Dr. Svetlana Nikolaevna Khonina
Guest Editor

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